Fabric



C. B. HAYES Oct.

FABRI C Filed Nov.22. 1924 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Oct. 18, 1927.

. 1,645,858 c. B. HAYES FABRIC Filed Nov. 22. 1924 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 ATTEIRHZ-IS:

instead of three.

Patented Oct. 18, 1927.

OLH'I'OBD B. HAYES, NEEDHAK, IASIACBUSIT'IS.

FABRIC.

Application filed November 28, 1024. Serial Io. 761,888.

The invention relates to an improved fabric or fabric material and-theprocess of producing it.

The essential object of the invention is to a provide a fabric. or fabric material possessety of uses and which will take the place of fabrics or materials now used but at a very much less cost; also,.to provide a fabric or.

material in which fibres available as an inexpensive by-product. serve as the raw material.

Amon the purposes to which the "im-' proved abric is especially adapted is as a doubler or plumper, between. theupper and the lining of shoes. Under present practices the liningof a shoe comprises either a filled cotton woven fabric or (more often) a. filled cotton woven fabric coupled with a doubler, so called. The doubler is a woven fabric, such as flannel, inserted between the lining proper and the leather portion of a shoe and is generally napped on one or both sides. The purpose of the doubler is to give a plumper feeling to the leather especially under circumstances where a relativel thin leather is used in the making of a s oe. The doubler serves, also, as a cushion. Its effectiveness in this connection, however, is limited to the amount of nap that can be raised on the doubler fabric. Where a doubler is used before the assembling of the parts of a shoe has begun, the leather, lining and doubler must be cut to pattern involving separate cutting operations for each.

A certain adaptation of the present fabric is such that there is combined in aslngle laminated fabric the lining itself, the back filling of the lining and the doubler. In other words, it combines in one iece the lining and doubler ordinarily emp oyed, retaining all the good qualities they individually possess and with many additional advantages, a1nong which are the following:

The cost 1s ve much less than that of a lining and douh er, because my doubler mate- -rial is less expensive than the cheapest fiannel. The cutting operations are reduced from three to two as there are two patterns For the same reason the lasting is simplified and gheapened 695 1% able there are only two thicknesses to be pulled over and stitched instead of three. The laminated fabric cuts more easily than an ordinary filled lining and does not dull the knives. The reason is that no mineral fillmgJ need be used since the doubler layer contri utes the necessary stiffness. The present fabric will also stand up better lining and separate doubler asthe friction between the lining and doubler is eliminated. Owing to its phability, it is more conformthan a lining and doubler as ordinarily employed. A further very decided advantags and peculiar .novel characteristic possessed by the present doubler material is its tendency to fluff or open up by use instead of becoming more com acted.

The fundamental i ea is the production of a doubler sheet, which in use Wlll develo the characteristics of a fibre hat, but whicli 1n incon ruous characteristics permittin be puIled over with the 11 per and its Iining, either when free of the ning or when attached thereto to nated fabric. I

I start with a short staple textile fibre, substantially free of oils, waxes, gums and like adhesives, forexam 1e, cotton shearings substantially free rom adhesive content. These fibres are too short to be formed into a satisfactor bat by carding or drawing, but may be fbrmed with a mat or sheet resembling a compact felt or absorbent paper by specia treatment in paper making machinery.

To this end I treat the fiber in a beater engine only sufiicientl to produce a smooth owing mixture which for lack of a better term may be called a pulp, butwhich in the technical sense is not a paper pulp at all. In the first place the effort is to mainr cs. i

than a. filled its initial state has other and apparently it to tain the integrity of the fibers to the maximum extent possible as to length, consistently with the production of asmooth flowing stock. In other words grinding or cut- .ting is avoided or at least minimized. In the second place there is no effect to soften or set free cellulose which would serve as a fiber binder. On the contrary the whole effort is to avoid this effect, to the end that in the finished product the fibers shall not be stuck together, but merely intimately en-. tangled or enmeshed with each other.

It follows from the above, that when the st ck when: dawr s is n M p p achine, the result is not a paper in the true sense, but rather soft felt or short staple mat, with low tensile strength, and marked.

lack of cohesion between fibers.

To facilitate manipulation, to reduce thickness and to increase tensile strength, this felt ma be rolled or pressed, but because of its lack of fiber cohesion it has thev property thereafter of opening u u n flexure into a loose resilient sheet, whicli closely resembles a carded bat, except that the fibers are shorter and are-indiscriminately laid; and which when in position as a doubler retains its integrity despite opening up.

After rolling and before opening up by flexure, the sheet has many of thecharacterist-ics in appearance and feel of an absorbent paper, and it is while it is in this condition that it may best be pulled over with the upper and its lining. It is advisable however to give the sheet additional tensile strength. Where it is to be used as a separate doubler, this may be accomplished b a surface treatment with an adhesive suc as rubber latex, or by cementing to it a cheap fabric such as cheese cloth.

I prefer however to cement the doubler sheet to an unfilled lining by v a strictly surface coat of non-drying, flexible cement.

This is less expensive as it simplifies cutting and pulling over, and it has the decided advantage in the finished shoe that the doubler is sustained by the lining.

The invention can bestbe seen and understood by reference to the drawings where embodiments thereof are shown with diagrammatic representations of elements used in the process of makin the fabric.

Figure 1 is a plan 0 the fabric showing one side thereof.

Fig. 2 is a plan of the fabric showing the opposite side thereof.

Fig. 3 is a cross section of the fabric.

Fig. 4 is a cross section of the fabric sli htly-modified in detail of construction.

Fig. 5 is a cross section of a further embodiment of the fabric. h

Fig. 6 is a diagrammatic plan illustrative of the steps ractised in making the mat later to be re erred to.

Fig. 7 is a diagrammatic plan illustrative of the steps practised in applying a cloth backing to the mat, and

Fig. 8 is a diagrammatic plan illustrative of the steps practised when latex or milk of rubber constitutes the backing, as will later be explained.

Referring to the drawings The doubler fabric (or layer in the case of a laminated fabric) comprises a mat or felt of fibres 1'. This is composed essentially of short-stapled textile fibres of the kind ordinarily em loyed in textile manufactures but render substantially free from gums, resins and oily. substances. In other words,

by textile fibres is meant fibres of the kind ordinarily employed in weaving, examples of which are cotton and wool. Cotton appears to work better than wool in the present connection though the two might well be void of adhesive content and which can be promiscuously interlaced and compressed into a coherent sheet'capable of loosening and thereby developing increased thickness and softness with retained integrity as a coherent sheet upon continued flexure as when used in a shoe. Wood ulp, which can hardly be termed a textile fi re, would not satisfy this requirement for if the pulp could be made to possess in a coherent sheet the capability of developing increased thickness and softness upon flexure as when used in a shoe, yet when the sheet of pulp or paper was subjected to any such flexure as would increase its thickness and softness as when used in a shoe, its integrity as a coherent sheet would no longer be maintained and thesheet would go to pieces. On this account wood pulp could not be used in the present connection. ltv this is not meant that no wood pulp at all could be used in making the sheet. \Vhile it is desirable that no wood pulp be used, yet some might be used as an adulterant provided such amount of textile fibre be used as will give character to the sheet as aforesaid and enable the sheetto maintain its integrity as a coherent sheet on flexure as-when used in a shoe. It is permissible also, though not necessary, that some of the fibres C0u-' stituting the mat be finely comminuted or reduced even to a pow er. In practice Jon shearings, so called, from bleached cotton fabrics have been employed with great success. These shearings are a short fibre waste material. The bleaching has rendered the shearings or fibres substantially free from gums, resins and oily substances and hence free of any pronounced cohesive tendency.

MThat mat is formed as follows (see Fig. 6) The stock is first placed in a beating engine 2 of the type customarily employed in the beating of wood fibre into pulp. The

stock is beaten in this engine until the fibres are reduced into the form of a soft pulpy mass, which tends to individualize the fibres,

soften them and otherwise impart to them such character as will permit of their later formation into a mat. The beating process will de end as to length of time upon the particu ar type of machine employed and the material, but in practice will take from one i to two hours. In any event, the beating of the fibresshould be'carried on only so long as to insure the stock running smooth and -lll The beating step is by no means so thorou h as that used in, ap'er manufacture, and n fact is only sufiiisient to produce a smooth fiowin stock. In this way the tendency of fibers in the finished minimized. e From the beating engine the stock is delivered through a pipe connection 3 into a receiving or storage tank 4 in which the'stock is preferably ke t agitated. The stock is drawn from the bottom of this tank way by a of a pipe connection 5 and delivere Ill ump 6 in such connection into a avit eed box 7 like that ordinarily amp 0 ed 1n paper-making, and which is provide with a partition 8 therein by which the height of the content is controlled. Any excess of content in this box is delivered back to the storage tank 4 by way of a pipe connection r9. From the feed box the stock is directed through a pipe connection 10 into a tank 11 within which operates a cylinder 12 having a periphery of Wire gauze. Water is made to pass through the cylinder and a mat of fibre made to adhere to the surface thereof by the action of external pressure from the mass in the tank precisely as in paper-makin irran ed adjacent the cylinder 12 is a couch roll 13 around which and other associated idler rolls 14 is passed an endless felt 15. The felt passes between squeeze rolls 16 and is driven in the direction indicated by the arrow by power applied to the ueeze rolls, power being applied in any suitable manner. Thus arranged, following the ordinary o rations incidental to paper-making, as th felt is rotated the fibrous mat upon the cylinder 12 will be picked off by the felt and carried by it through the squeeze rolls whei'e the water will be extracted from the mat when the mat will become capable of being wound into a roll for further use as re uirement is made therefor.

he fibres thus treated become nested together into a coherent mat or sheet of any desired thickness of body and possessin great softness and pliability but with little tensile strength, an little adhesion of fibre to fibre.

Inasmuch as the fibres are substantially free from ums, resins and oily substances,

which woud tend to make them adhere to each other, and inasmuch as the water simply acts to nest the fibres together, a more or less tem orary binding of the fibres is at the most e ected, the bond between the fibres being easily broken permitting loosening or finding of the fibres or mat when subjected to flexure or other moderate strains.

While the mat in itself possesses valuable potential roperties as an article of manufacture, its 11 utility is developedwhen there product to cohere is' 'terial ordinarily An adhesive having a a bee 'ng 1 6 of textile fa ric of appreciable I tensile strength, preferably cotton, towhich the mat is secured". .,When the fabric is to be usedfor the urpose of a shoe lining,the backing16 consists of the cotton lining maigplo' ed but preferably not filled and starch 'f the fabric is to be used for the pur ose of a 'doubler separate from the lining, t en the backing preferably consists of some stron though loosely woven low cost cot-ton fabr c for example cheese cloth. 7

The mat ispreferably applied to but one side of the backing, but may be applied to both sides (see Fig. 4).

17 re resents the bond by which the mat and bac ing are connected into a single piece and which bond geferably acts also as a filler for the bee 'ng when the fabric is being used. for the lining of a shoe. The bond may consist of any suitable adhesive. starch base may be used, preferably one which ssesses more or less elasticity drying, Ad esives of this type are well known to those skilled in the art. An ordinary starch paste containing glycerine has been used with complete success.

The method ,em loyed for securing the mat to the backing is as follows (see Fig. 7) Arranged in operative association with a pasting table 20 is a roll of the mat 1 and also .a roll of the backin or cloth 16 emlo ed in the making ,0 the fabric. The ac ing 16 is directed over the face of the pasting table, being impelled or drawn as will later be explained. As the backin proceeds over the ace of the table the adhesive 18 applied to it by means of a doctor 21. This adhesive, as explained above, is one havin preferably astarch base and possessing, a so, the pro erty of acting as a filler for the backing. 't is ap lied in the form of a film. Arranged just beyond the pasting table are a pair of press rolls 22. The backing and mat pass between these rolls in face contact with each other, and the adhesive effects a permanent bond but does not penetrate. the mat to any substantial depth. These rolls also compact the mat.

From the press rolls 22 the fabric is directed over a series of dr ing "drums'23. Power is applied to these rying drums in any suitable manner and the power thus applied to the drying drums impels or draws both the backing and mat during the prior steps of connecting them. During the progress of the fabric around the drying drums the backing acts as a carrier for the mat.

After the fixin of the backing the mat maybe mapped, i? desired, or its fibre loosened or fiufl'ed up by rolling, beating or r shing, nd, in th s conn ion the napping hf the mat will not interfere withthe tensile strength of the fabric which resides in the unnapped backing. 'This is in contrast to the ordinary napped fabric where strength is sacrificed to nap inasmuch as the nap is raised upon and from the fibres which give strength to the fabric. In consequence the amount of na in the ordinary abric, while they are substantially unlimited in the present fabric in so far as sacrificing the strength of the fabric is concerned. Such napping is however unnecessary and commonly undesirable, as the mat or felt layer will open up readily by fiexure in use.

In its application to a shoe the laminated fabric is so laid that the mat will lie next to the leather. It has been found that as the shoe is worn the mat will fluff or open up, assuming a bat-like form, instead of becoming more com acted nor does it lose its character as a co erent sheet fixed to the backing.

Other means may be employed to give tensile strength to the mat and the means will depend to a certain extent upon the purpose for which the mat is being used. The mat is made especially effective for many purposes including that of a lining for shoes by an application of latex or milk of rubber 24 to one of its sides (see Fig. 5). The latex is preferably applied to the mat by spraying, only a suflicient amount of the latex being applied to bind the ends of the nested fibres. The latex imparts a very considerable tensile strength to the fabric, but never theless leaves the unsprayed side of the mat soft and flufiy.

When the backing of cloth is applied to the mat by means of an adhesive as revi- ,ously described this may be accomp ished directly after the water has been pressed out "of the wet matby the squeeze rolls and prior to drying.

The latex is applied preferably tov a dry mat. The mat may be dried by running over drying rolls 23 immediately after the water has been extracted from it by the squeeze rolls. The s raying of the latex is preferably accomplis ed by means of spra ing nozzles or guns capable ofdirecting t e latex onto the side of the mat in a very thin spray or mist. y

In Fig. 8 there is showna diagrammatic illustration of the manner in which the latex is applied and its drying subsequently effected. 25 represents thespraying gun or nozzle, a battery of these guns or nozzles being preferably employed. Just forward of the nozzles or guns is a hothouse or chamber 26.

having steam coils 27 within it for heating it. An endless carrier belt 27, preferably of wire screening of large mesh, guided by rolls 28 and driven in any suitable manner, reseats a top carrying surface 29 exten mg and thickness are limited through the hothouse or chamber with inner and outer ends located outside the chamber. Arranged adjacent the front end of the chamber is a roll of the mat 1 and the mat from this roll is passed upwardly beneath the battery of nozzles or spraying guns 25 and thence onto the to surface 29 of the endless carrier belt. through the hothouse or chamber where the latex is dried and delivers it'to-the outer end of the chamber where the fabric is rolled up.

Having thus fully described my invention, I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States 1. As an article of manufacture, afabric lining material specially adapted for use as a lining for shoes composed of short textile fibers substantially devoid of adhesive content, tpromiscuously interlaced and comresse into a coherent sheet capable of oosening and thereby developing lncreased thickness and softness with retained integrity as a coherent sheet u on continued flexure as when used as speci ed in a shoe.

2. As an article of manufacture, a fabric lining material specially adapted for use as a lining for shoes composed of short textile fibres substantially'devoid of adhesive content, promiscuousl interlaced and compressed into a co erent sheet capable of loosening and thereby developing increased his carries the mat thickness and softness with retained integrity as a coherent sheet upon continued flexure as when used as specified in a shoe, and a superficialbinding layer of flexible adhesive material serving to connect such portions of the fibre content of the sheet as extend to the coated surface.

3. As an article of manufacture, a laminated fabric lining material specially adapted for use as a lining for shoes, comprising in combination, a wear-resistin backing, a paper-like felt com osed of s ort textile fibres'substantially evoid of adhesive content, romiscuousl interlaced and comressed into a co erent sheet capable of oosening and thereby developing increased thickness and softness with retained integrityas a coherent sheet upon continued flexure as when used as specified in a shoe; and

face of said felt. w th a dsaid ada flexible adhesive connecting one surface'ofsisting of a felted mass of short, non-ad-. hesive cotton fibers compressed into a thin,

coherent sheet and characterized by the property of developing increased thickness and softness, without loss of its integrity as a coherent sheet upon continued flexure as when used as specified in a shoe.

6. A laminated fabric for use as a comv bined lining and doubler in shoes and the like comprisin in combination a textile fabric lining, an a felted mass of short, nonadhesive cotton fibers compressed into a thin, coherent sheet, but capable of-developing increased thickness and softness, without loss of its integrity as-a coherent sheet upon continued flexure as when usedas specified in a shoe, and means connecting said lining and said felted mass in face contact with each other permittin of the felted mass developing increased thickness and softness upon continued flexure as aforesaid.

7. A laminated fabric for use as a com-' bined lining and doubler in shoes and the like comprisin in combination a textile fabric lining, and a felted mass of short, nonadhesive cotton fibers compressed into a thin, coherent sheet, but capable of developing the texture of a cotton bat, with increased thickness and softness while maintaining its integrity as a. coherent sheet upon continued flexure as when used as specified in a shoe, and a flexible adhesive connecting said lining and said felted mass,,said adhesive being of a type adapted to. maintain superficial engagement of the fibers of the felted mass, substantiall without tendency to permeate the body 0 the mass.

CLIFFORD B. HAYES, 

